Tim Pawlenty will announce an end to his presidential candidacy after a disappointing third place finish in the Ames, Iowa, straw poll, sources participating in a conference call Sunday told Fox News.

The former Minnesota governor was expected to make the announcement on a Sunday morning talk show.

Pawlenty received 13 percent of the vote in the poll, which is not generally a marker of the future presidential nominee. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann received 28 percent of the nearly 17,000 votes cast followed by Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who earned 27 percent. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum earned 9 percent and businessman Herman Cain received 8 percent.

But Pawlenty, who has relied on organizational strength and popularity in the lead-off caucuses state, has struggled to gain traction in Iowa, where he and Bachmann have conducted a surly back-and-forth.

After his third-place finish on Saturday, Pawlenty issued a statement saying that he merely needed to show progress, and had achieved that goal.

“I’m encouraged by our progress, and I’m so thankful for the thousands of Iowans who showed their support for my candidacy by voting for me in Ames,” he said.

“We are now moving onto the next phase of our campaign. Over the coming weeks we will be visiting New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida while continuing to grow our already strong ground game in Iowa,” Pawlenty continued.

The winner of the Republican presidential nomination will face President Obama in the 2012 election.

(Source: Fox News)